Top 20 Films of 2008: #3 Silent Light

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  Top 20 ioncinema.com

#3. To me, Japon and Battle in Heaven remain examples of experimental cinema that rubbed me in a wrong way but were strong samples of an auteur worth looking at for at work. So while I wasn’t totally convinced by his cinema, this changed when I finally got to see what is perhaps the most beautiful story visually captured on film this year (it was actually a 2007 film, had a week release I think at MoMA in the Fall, and gets a release at Film Forum next week) comes from Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas and his DOP Alexis Zabe. I was left paralyzed in my seat from the opening frame (which is later revisited) and forgot that I was watching an engrossing tragi-drama with non-actors.

 

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society), FIPRESCI and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

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